Listening in a different way

In my job I often get told that someone needs to listen more. Or, more appropriately, they need to listen in a different way. Perhaps they aren't listening to the things they should. Perhaps they are not taking in what they should be listening to.

I sort of know what I am telling them to do. Otherwise, why would I tell them?

Yesterday I was watching Sky Arts and saw a cracking documentary on the Doors' eponymous and debut album from the late 1960s. It was the first Doors album I bought and love most of the songs on it. In last night's documentary they seemed to make a number of subtle comparisons between the songs of the Doors and the Beatles, perhaps suggesting that, musically, the Doors were more talented and therefore perhaps deserved more success, or more recognition for their songs. At one point a music critic, on speaking about The End said "well it ain't no Obla-Di Obla-Da is it?!"

The program (which is being repeated a lot at the moment) looked at the majority of the songs from that album and looked at how they were made. What musical parts contributed to the songs, and what the thinking was behind each one. They said that to be in the Doors, you needed to be able to do more than three chords. Indeed, the poetic lyrics of Morrison, the bass keys then treble of Manzarek, the at-times bossa nova beat of Densmore, and an almost inhuman, magical guitar of Krieger made the Doors one of the greatest bands which ever blessed those sacreds airwaves.

So, next time you listen to the Doors, don't just listen to them. Really, really listen!